by Aneko Yusagi
Chapter One: A Royal Summons
“Huh?”
I’d gone to the library to do a bit of reading.
My name is Naofumi Iwatani, and I’m a sophomore in college. I’m also aware that I am more of a nerd than the rest of my classmates. Ever since I first became interested in video games and anime and other Otaku past-times, I’ve given them more of my time than I give my actual studies.
My parents know this about me, and so they gave up on me early on. Instead they sent my brother to a famous prep-school in an effort to “secure his future.” But the pressure was too much for him. He got worn out with all the studying and turned into a troubled teen, dying his hair and yelling obscenities around the house. For a little while, the whole family was miserable.
But then a savior appeared to save the day: me!
He was always scowling and mouthing off to everyone, but I had an ingenious plan up my sleeve: I suggested he try playing a game, a popular one. It was a dating simulator, the kind where you get to go on dates with cute girls.
“What the hell?”
“Just try it! You don’t have to commit to liking it.”
I said that because I knew the real reason he had turned into such a punk.
When we were growing up, our parents had always given me whatever I asked for—but he had never received the same treatment. He wanted the freedom that I’d always had. I’m a specialist when it comes to having fun though, so he was interested in the game I suggested, if only because he knew I was an authority on fun. He told me this himself, later on down the line.
I’ll just skip right to the end: there’s one more Otaku in the world now.
If you walked into his room now, you’d see posters and figurines from the very same game I introduced him to. Not only that, but he also rededicated himself to his studies, got into a great school, and is apparently at the top of his class.
My parents were so happy about my intervention that they spoiled me even more as a result, so I am currently leading a very free life as a college student.
Ok, so that was a bit of a digression. I had gone to the library to do a bit of reading.
My parents give me an allowance of 10,000 yen every month. The naughty games and magazines, light novels and manga that my friends and I go through eat up that allowance pretty quickly. I have a part time job that brings in about 50,000 yen a month, which is great, but the various festivals I take part in during the summer and winter months use all that money as well.
My brother is not the sort of person to go out of his way to participate in a festival, but my parents rent a room for us near the festival grounds to encourage his participation. Well whatever, they have their own lives to live so they can’t give me all that much money. They try to help cover tuition and rent, so that’s plenty. So whenever I need to save money, when I don’t have all that much, I go to used bookstores or to the library to read. If I have free time, I like to play games online, but if you really want to be good at them there’s no end to how much time you could sink into a character.
Besides, I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades, and I’m not really the type to invest all my time in one particular thing. That, and even when I do get into a game, I don’t really care about leveling up my character. I just end up obsessed with gathering money in the virtual world. Even as I’m writing these words, I have characters and rare items that I collected up for sale.
Thanks to those sales, I somehow managed to secure free time for myself in the real world.
Ok then, so I was there in the library when all this craziness started.
I was looking over an old bookshelf in the corner that was dedicated to fantasy novels. I think that fantasy has a history at least as long as recorded human history. I mean, if you really think about it, even the Bible is a type of fantasy novel.
The Records of the Four Holy Weapons?
This really old-looking book just fell off the shelf. The title was pretty hard to make out, and I guess whoever had been reading it last hadn’t taken the time to put it back securely. Whatever. Figuring it was probably destiny, I brought it back to the table, sat down, and opened it.
Flip… Flip…
It was the kind of book that starts off by telling you about the fantasy world itself. To sum it up, it seemed to be about a different world, one with an apocalyptic prophecy to worry about. The prophecy said that many waves of great destruction would wash over the world until nothing was left. To stave off disaster and escape destruction, the people would call for heroes from another world to come and save them. Or something like that, anyway.
Hmm, well the idea seems pretty cliché now, but something about the book being that old felt, ironically, fresh.
So the four heroes each possessed a weapon.
Sword, spear, bow, and shield.
I started to wince at the content. I mean, when you think about it, a shield is not even a weapon at all. Anyway, I started to skim ahead.
The four of them went on a journey to train, gather strength, perfect themselves, and stop the prophesied destruction of the world.
My head jerked. I’d nearly fallen asleep in my seat. It was all too much, I was yawning. And the book was so old-fashioned. I mean, there were no cute heroines at all. The only girl was the princess, and she was horrible because she was manipulative and obsessed with the heroes. She kept casting flirtatious glances at all of them, pitting them against each other. I wished she would just pick one of them to focus on.
The Sword Hero was active and powerful; the Spear Hero valued and protected his friends, and the Bow Hero would never tolerate injustice. All the heroes were good people with great personalities. There aren’t many stories like that these days. You know the kind where all the characters share the protagonist spotlight?
What’s this? The story was shifting to talk about the Shield Hero.
“Huh?”
I turned the page and let out an involuntary yelp. All the pages after the introduction of the Shield Hero were blank. I kept flipping, kept looking them over, but they were all blank, white pages. There was nothing else in the book.
“What the heck?”
I was thinking over how strange it all was when I started to feel dizzy.
“Huh? What’s…” I heard my own bewildered whisper and felt my consciousness slipping away… I’d never dreamed that I’d be transported to another world.
Chapter Two: The Heroes
“Oh wow…”
I heard the sound of people marveling at something and suddenly was awake again. My eyes weren’t ready to focus on anything, but I pointed them straight ahead anyway. There were men in robes, looking at me in awe, and apparently speechless.
“What’s all this?”
I turned in the direction of the voice and discovered three other people there. Like myself, they didn’t seem to know what was going on.
I scratched my head.
I’d been in the library only moments before, but then… why? And just where was I?
I flipped my head left and right and found that I was in a room. The walls were made of stone. Is that what they call brick? Regardless, I don’t think it was anywhere I’d been before. And it certainly was not the library.
I looked at the floor. It was covered in geometric patterns that had been painted in some sort of florescent material. There was also an altar of some kind. It looked like something magical, straight out of a fantasy.
We were standing on the altar.
Wait a second, why was I holding a shield?
I was holding a shield. It was feather-light, and fit my hand perfectly. I couldn’t figure out why I was holding it though, so I went to p
ut it down, only to find that I was unable to do so. It was like it was stuck to me.
“Where are we?”
Just as I was wondering the same thing, the man next to me, the one carrying a sword, asked some men in robes.
“Oh Heroes! Please save our world!”
“What?!”
The four of us shouted in unison.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
But the appeal of the robed men sounded familiar, like something I’d read on the Internet.
“There are many complications in this situation, but to offer a simple answer to your question, we have just completed an ancient ceremony and summoned you four Heroes.”
“Summoned?”
Yes, that was it. There was a really good chance that it was all some prank, but there seemed nothing wrong with hearing them out. Besides, it’s more fun to be pranked than to prank someone else, anyway. I don’t mind that sort of thing. I think it’s fun.
“Our world teeters on the brink of destruction. Heroes, please lend us your strength,” said the robed men, bowing very deeply to us.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to…” I began to reply, but the other three guys spoke up quickly.
“I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“We can go back to our world, right? We’ll talk about your problems after that.”
What? Did they think it was okay to speak to someone like that? Someone that was bowing to us out of desperation? Why couldn’t they save their conclusions until after they’d heard the bulk of the situation?
I glared at them in silence, and soon the three of them were looking me over. What were they smiling about? We could all feel the room growing tense.
What jerks! I bet they were actually happy to be there. Think about if it were true! They’d get the chance to have adventures in another world. It’d be a dream come true! Sure, it’s a cliché, but still, couldn’t we at least hear them out?
The guy with the sword looked like he might have been in high school. He pointed his sword at the robed men and nearly shouted, “Don’t you feel any guilt for calling people into your world without their permission?”
“Besides,” said the guy with the bow and arrows, “Even if we save you and bring peace to your world, you’ll just send us back home, right? That just sounds like a job to me.” He was glaring at the robed men.
“I wonder how much you’ve considered our opinion on this. I wonder how it could be worth our while? Depending on how the conversation goes, keep in mind that we might end up enemies of your world.”
So that’s how it was. That’s what they wanted. This is when they try and figure out their standing and demand a reward. Well, they certainly were an outspoken, confident bunch. I felt like I was somehow losing to them.
“Yes, well, we would very much like you to speak with the king. He will discuss future compensation with you in the throne room.”
One of the robed men, apparently their leader, leaned against a very heavy looking door until it opened, at which point he pointed in the direction we were to go.
“Whatever.”
“Fine.”
“I don’t think it really matters who we talk to, but whatever.”
My outspoken companions complained as they left the room in the direction indicated. I didn’t want to be left alone, so I followed them out.
We walked out of the darkened room and down a hallway made of stone. How should I describe it? The air felt fresh… and I can’t think of any other words for it. Vocabulary has never been my strong suit. We were able to steal a glance through a window, and the scenery took our breath away.
The clouds were high, high in the sky for as far as you could see. There, below us, a town spread out from the building we were in, all the houses lined up pretty, just like one of those European cities you’d see featured in a travel brochure. I wanted to pause for a minute and take it all in, but there was no time. We were hurried past the window and down the hall, and soon enough we arrived at the throne room.
“Huh, so these kids are the four Holy Heroes?”
An important-looking older man was sitting there on the throne. He leaned forward as he spoke. He didn’t make a good first impression on me. I just can’t stand people who condescend.
“My name is Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, and I rule these lands. Heroes, show me your faces!”
I almost yelled at him to shut up, but I caught myself just in time. I guess he was in a position of authority, and he seemed to be a king of some sort.
“Now then, I shall begin with an explanation. This country, no, this whole world is on the brink of destruction.”
Seems like a rather regal introduction. The other guys with me spoke up. “Well, I guess that makes sense, considering you’d call for us from another world.”
“Yeah, figures.”
I’ll try to summarize the king’s story:
There was a prophecy about the end of the world. Many waves would appear, and they would wash over the world, again and again, until nothing remains. Unless the waves were repelled and their accompanying calamities avoided, the world was doomed. The prophecy was from long ago, though the time it spoke of was now, this very moment. There was also a large and ancient hourglass that would signal the times. The hourglass predicted the arrival of the waves, and its sands began to fall one month ago. According to legend, the waves would come in one-month intervals.
In the beginning, the citizens of the land mocked the legends. However, when the sands in the hourglass began to fall, a great calamity visited the land. A fissure appeared in the country, Melromarc, a fissure to another dimension. Terrifying and horrible creatures crawled out from it in great numbers.
At the time, the country’s knights and adventurers were able to repel the advance of the creatures, but the next wave was prophesied to be even more terrible.
At this rate, the country was doomed, having no way to ward off the impending disaster. Considering the situation nearly hopeless, the kingdom decided to summon heroes from another world.
That about sums it up.
Oh, by the way, it seems like the Legendary Weapons enabled us to understand the language of that world.
“All right,” said one of my companions. “I think I understand where you’re coming from. But does that mean you are basically commanding us to help you?”
“Seems all fine and good… for you”
“I agree. All this sounds pretty self-centered to me. If your world is on the road to destruction, just let it burn. I don’t see what it has to do with us.”
I could tell by the condescending giggle he struggled to hide that he secretly thought that this was all really cool.
Well it was my turn to speak up next. “As they have said, we don’t have a responsibility to help you. If we dedicate our time and lives to bringing peace to your kingdom, do we get anything besides a ‘thanks and see you later’? I mean, I guess what I really want to know is if there is a way for us to get home. Could you tell me anything about that?”
“Hmmm…” The king shot his vassal a sidelong glance. “Of course we are planning on compensating you all for your efforts.”
The heroes, including myself, pumped our fists in celebration. Yes! Phase one of negotiations: complete.
“Naturally,” continued the king. “I’ve made arrangements to support you financially, and also to provide you with whatever you may require, in thanks for your efforts on our behalf.”
“Oh yeah? Cool. Well, as long as you’ll promise us that, I don’t think we’ll have a problem.”
“Don’t think you’ve bought us off. As long as we aren’t enemies, I’ll help you out though.”
“Agreed.”
“Me too.”
Why did they all have to act so superior all the time? Think about where we are! Do you really want to make an enemy of the king? Still, I guess it was good to get all the particulars out of the way in advance rather than risk losing everything
down the road.
“Very well then, Heroes. Tell us your names.”
Wait a second—I just noticed something. Doesn’t all this sound similar to the book I’d been reading in the library? The Records of the Four Holy Weapons?
A sword, spear, bow…and yes, a shield.
Even the four heroes were the same. Could I have somehow gotten pulled into the world of that book? I was starting to mull these things over when the kid with the sword, the Sword Hero, stepped forward and introduced himself.
“My name is Ren Amaki. I am 16 years old, and a high school student.”
The Sword Hero, Ren Amaki. He was an attractive young guy. His face was handsome, and he was relatively short, maybe 160 centimeters. If he cross-dressed, you’d mistake him for a girl in an instant. His face was so composed. His hair was black, and cut short. His eyes were sharp, and his skin was white. Overall he gave off a cool impression. Like a quick, slender swordsman.
“All right, I’ll go next. My name is Motoyasu Kitamura. I’m 21, and a college student.”
The Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura. He came off as light-hearted and kind, something like an older brother. His face was at least as well kept as Ren’s, the type of guy who was sure to have a girlfriend or two. He was probably around 170 centimeters. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail. I normally don’t like ponytails on men, but it seemed to suit him. Overall he seemed like a caring, older brother.
“Ok, my turn. I’m Itsuki Kawasumi. I’m 17, and still in high school.”
The Bow Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi. He looked like the calm, piano-playing sort of character. How to explain it? He seemed vain, and yet, at the same time, he held some unrevealed strength. There was something indefinite about him. Something vague. He was the shortest among us, probably somewhere around 155 centimeters. His hair style was slightly wavy, as if it had been permed. He was like a soft-spoken younger brother.
Apparently we were all Japanese, though I would be pretty surprised to see a foreigner here anyway.
Oh, my turn already?
“I guess I’m last. My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I’m 20 years old, and a college student.”